Microsatellite markers discriminating accessions within collections of plant genetic resources

The reliability of microsatellite analyses for discriminating between plant accessions maintained in collections of genetic resources was tested for 53 accessions of barley, 65 of soybean, 49 of chickpea, and 19 of alfalfa. The specific primer pairs used in this study were based on microsatellite DNA sequences surrounded by perfect dinucleotide and imperfect trinucleotide tandem repeat units. The evaluated polymorphic information content, diversity index, and probabilities of identity indicate that there is value in the application of SSR analyses in barley, soybean, and chickpea genetic resource management. Variation between alfalfa genotypes was not revealed at the five analyzed microsatellite loci.